Calcot Infant School and Nursery

Inspection of Calcot Infant School and Nursery Curtis Road, Calcot, Reading, Berkshire RG31 4XG

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 2 and 3 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Calcot Infant and Nursery is a nurturing and welcoming school. Pupils say they enjoy attending. A typical view was, ‘School is fun. It makes you clever!’ Leaders have high expectations of pupils. Consequently, pupils have high aspirations for themselves.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils work hard and are determined to do their best. Displays in the classrooms and around the school celebrate their achievements. Staff model high standards of behaviour. Pupils behave exceptionally well. They say that their teachers always make lessons interesting. Staff will happily re-explain things if pupils need help understanding something. Pupils are very caring towards each other. They play well together on the playground. The on-site forest school gives them exciting opportunities to learn about nature and the environment outdoors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and parents agree. Pupils are confident to speak with staff if they have any worries. Rare occurrences of bullying are dealt with swiftly. They enjoy seeing the school dog around the building, especially when it comes to the assemblies. The children in Year 2 have a taster swimming lesson during sports week in preparation for swimming in their next school. As pupils move through the school, there is a wealth of opportunities to enrich their lives, including lunchtime, after-school clubs, arts and sporting events.

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better?

Leaders have constructed an ambitious curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils. They have redesigned and strengthened it so that pupils learn the required key knowledge and skills in the correct order. Staff carefully plan sequences of learning. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, leaders need additional time to refine further some aspects of curriculum planning in subjects other than mathematics and English.

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better?

Staff have strong subject knowledge and teach the curriculum confidently. In lessons, pupils link their previous learning to help them find out new things. Well- planned activities inspire and motivate pupils. For example, they study photographs of the explorer Amelia Earhart and sing an ocean song to remember the main oceans she travelled.

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better?

Children get off to a flying start in the early years. They are supported well through a wide range of precise learning activities enabling them to achieve highly. The learning environments are engaging and children’s achievements are celebrated.

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better?

The teaching of reading is a strength. Leaders give high priority to the teaching of early reading, including phonics. They have introduced a new way of teaching pupils, though are yet to evaluate the full impact on learning. The reading curriculum is sequenced carefully. There is a logical progression of knowledge and skills that pupils gain over time. Pupils enjoy reading. They engage in practical activities to help them remember how to blend sounds. Adults ask well-chosen 2 and 3 February 2023

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questions to check pupils’ understanding of the text. Staff help pupils who need more support to catch up with their classmates.

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Mathematics is taught equally well. Teachers use practical resources effectively to support mathematical understanding. This allows pupils to remember more over time. In the Reception Year, there is a strong focus on teaching number. For example, during the inspection, children were learning in the outdoor area about numbers. They were tasked with finding numbers, using large shapes. Teachers break learning down effectively into small steps. This supports pupils to build a strong understanding of concepts and skills. Teachers ensure that pupils are constantly strengthening their use of mathematical vocabulary to help them understand more about mathematics.

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Pupils are assessed carefully on an ongoing basis to check their understanding of the curriculum. If a pupil is at risk of falling behind, they receive well-chosen support. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. Teachers carefully adjust the curriculum when needed. They use appropriate resources to support these pupils to succeed.

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Pupils celebrate diversity and inclusion by learning that everyone should be valued. They mark different religious festivals to understand the views and beliefs of other faiths. Staff ensure that pupils understand what it is to be a good citizen. One pupil proudly showed an inspector their badge for showing good manners. Pupils take inspiration from their learning. For example, pupils learn about Neil Armstrong. They understand how exploration and curiosity can impact our understanding of space. British values are interwoven within the curriculum based on school values and tolerance. Pupils learn that tolerance relates to differences and similarities.

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School leaders are relentless in their drive to provide every child with the best possible start in life. Staff value the support they receive to manage their workload. Governors are committed to this community school. They are well-informed of the school’s priorities.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding is given the highest priority. Clear systems support staff to identify and report safeguarding risks. Leaders record problems meticulously and act quickly. They work closely with agencies to ensure timely help for individual pupils. Checks when recruiting staff and volunteers to work in the school are thorough.

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Safeguarding

Governors monitor the school effectively to ensure that leaders keep children safe. The school has well-trained safeguarding leads who support staff and give advice when necessary. The curriculum is sequenced carefully to help pupils to learn how to keep safe, including when online. 2 and 3 February 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The changes in the curriculum need to be securely embedded across all subjects. Leaders still need to evaluate the impact on pupils’ learning. Governors and leaders should ensure that the curriculum changes build pupils’ knowledge and skills securely and consistently, enabling pupils to learn and remember more across all subjects.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 2 and 3 February 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Julia Kidd and Joseph Lally (Co-Chairs)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 October 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 No relevant changes since the previous inspection.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During this inspection, the inspectors met with the executive headteacher, deputy and assistant headteachers. The lead inspector spoke with members of the governing body, the school’s improvement adviser and a representative of the local authority.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, geography and history. For each deep dive, the inspectors 2 and 3 February 2023

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discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  The inspectors also examined curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about some other subjects.  Responses to Ofsted Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey for parents, and parents’ free-text comments were considered. The inspector also considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and the online pupil survey.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements in the school, the inspectors spoke to members of staff and pupils. The lead inspectors met with the designated safeguarding and deputy designated safeguarding leads to discuss the school’s policies and procedures. During these meetings, records were scrutinised, including those relating to the safer recruitment of staff.

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Inspection team

Darren Aisthorpe, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Lynn Martin Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 February 2023

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